Pink Floyd ~ “Cirrus Minor” (1969) Opening with one minute of dawn songbirds from the BBC sound effects library, David Gilmour’s slowly strummed acoustic guitar, Richard Wright’s misty organ, and Roger Waters’ poetic lyrics set the scene as David Gilmour sings about a pastoral spring paradise (“in a churchyard by a river, lazing in the …
“Footsteps in the Snow” (Claude Debussy)Written by French composer Claude Debussy on December 27, 1909, this piano prelude is perhaps the quintessential piece of classical music concerning winter (alongside Franz Schubert’s Winterreise.) The slow, soft tones move from D minor to E minor to F minor–a melancholy, moody tune. “Heart of the North” (Basil Kirchin)Where …
My last article was about the beast that is the guitar solo, the reason I got into rock’n’roll at all. I wrote a lot about how the solo came about and what it means for rock in general. I was just reading the article, as you do as an egomaniac, narcissistic writer, and just had …
I’m a sucker for a guitar solo, I love ’em !! Doesn’t matter what, where. How or when! My parents didn’t really listen to music at all, so I had no real musical upbringing. My older sister started to actively listen to music when I was 10 or so, but she heard a lot of …
In 1966, Luna 9 and Luna 10 (Soviet Union spacecraft) were the first human made satellites to land on and orbit Earth’s moon. In December 1968 and May 1969, Apollo 8 and Apollo 10 (American spacecraft) were the first missions with astronauts to orbit Earth’s moon. On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 landed. Neil Armstrong …
“Devil Got My Woman” (Skip James)What better way to kick off Record Store Day than with this blues classic of heartbreak and isolation recorded by Mississippi musician Skip James in 1931? Skip James was rediscovered during the 1960s. Thora Birch’s misfit outcast Enid buys a blues compilation from the hermit obsessive collector Seymour (Steve Buscemi’s …
